Laurieobella

Hi all,

4 or us are arriving in Rome from the States on April 18. We will spend 4 nights in Rome and 5 nights in Tuscany with our time split between the bases of Siena and Lucca(not etched in stone.) On April 28 my daughter and sister fly home from Pisa. My husband and I will continue on spending anywhere from 2 to 4 more nights in Tuscany before relocating to Sorrento.

We travel home from Naples on May 10 with a very early departure. We know we would like to spend our last 2 nights in Naples and 2-3 nights on Capri prior to Naples. I need to decide whether to head south on April30 or May2, providing us with either4-6 more nights in the Campania region. I want to avoid travel on the May 1st holiday.

Combined you have so much Italy experience...what do you think? On this last leg of the trip we hope to relax, sightsee, hike and enjoy la dolce vita! I also think I better book some hotels soon!

Thanks in advance for all your travel advice.

Jean

Will you have a car while in Tuscany? Where (which towns/areas) do you plan to explore away from Siena and Lucca? If you will have a car, consider staying somewhere other than IN Siena for easier and faster starts and ends to your driving days. If you're staying IN Siena with a car, the Palazzo Ravizza has reasonably good ingress/egress, and the hotel has its own parking lot (no charge).

Would you need that many days in Campania to see what you want to see? Are you using only public trans? Nine to ten days (4/30-5/10) is a lot of time but would make for a leisurely pace.

Have you considered spending a couple of days (4/28-5/2) exploring Umbria?

Laurieobella

Jean, if we get a car it probably won't be until Lucca/Pisa area. I think it would be nice to see more of Tuscany/Umbria. Just want to make sure 3-4 nights are enough in Sorrento before heading to Capri.

tuscanlifeedit

It occurs to me that it is really about what you like. I might choose more time in Umbria/Tuscany, especially if it wasn't swimming weather in the Sorrento area in the summer. My reason being that I prefer art and history and architecture to scenery, although I love scenery, but without swimming weather, it wouldn't draw me as much as art. Plus, you'll be in Capri where there is plenty of shopping and gorgeous scenery. Plus you'll be in Naples.

I would extend Tuscany/Umbria. But it isn't me!

Jean

It isn't me either, but I'd rent a car for the entire time in Tuscany (and Umbria if you head there). I don't know why you'd choose to have a car for Lucca/Pisa but not the geographic center of Tuscany.

Laurieobella

Lots of good thoughts thanks.

carmar

2 years ago we did the exact same trip but in reverse. It was our 40th wedding anniversary and we invited our 3 daughters and spouses to join us.

We spent 3 nts. in Sorrento (the water)
3 nts. in Tuscany (the country)
3 nts. in Rome (big city)

You have more time that us in each place but let me tell you, it was a trip of a lifetime. We travel a lot but this one was over the top.

We had 2 cars the entire trip and it made it so nice to see the Tuscan area where we toured Siena and some wineries. Believe it or not, we also had a ball stopping at the Auto Strada rest areas along the way.

If you need any hotel ideas, e-mail me at [email protected]

Laurieobella

Jean, after all the suggestions I think it really makes sense to extend the time in Tuscany/Umbria. We can travel south either on May 2or 3. It' still will allow 7-8 nights for Sorrento/Capri/Naples.

Carmar would love to know where you stayed. We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary year.

Jean

Besides Palazzo Ravizza in Siena (which I mentioned earlier), look at Locanda San Francesco in Montepulciano and Hotel San Luca in Spoleto. I would feel less comfortable making recommendations for other hotels where we've stayed but not in more than 5 years. There are loads of other hotels which are enthusiastically recommended here, so do some searches using the "Advanced search" box at the top of the page. Genius Loci near Bevagna, for example.